Programs Focused on Diversifying Medical Pipeline

Lawsuit: University of Dayton Covered Up Football Team Hazing Claims

by Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio — A new lawsuit claims the University of Dayton covered up allegations of hazing connected to the school’s football team by ensuring that a UD police investigation never reached local officials. Max Engelhart, a former UD student and offensive lineman, filed the lawsuit against the western Ohio school, its football coach and others […]

Woman Guilty of Embezzling $200,000 from Education Nonprofit

by Associated Press

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by Associated Press

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Ex-Wichita State University Worker Files Discrimination Suit

by Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. ― A former Wichita State University administrative assistant filed a federal lawsuit accusing the university of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Vicki Huntoon said in the lawsuit that she was fired from the university because of her generalized anxiety disorder after two doctors diagnosed the disorder and she requested to work […]

University of Illinois Strengthening Ties with Mexico

by Associated Press

URBANA, Ill. — The University of Illinois is strengthening its ties with Mexico through new academic and research partnerships. The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports university President Tim Killeen signed agreements during a trip to Mexico last week. He says they are part of the university’s efforts to diversify international student enrollment and increase its global impact. […]

University of Akron Calling for Buyouts, Recruitment Boost

by Associated Press

AKRON, Ohio —The University of Akron plans to offer voluntary buyouts to employees, increase recruiting efforts of international students and restructure its scholarship system to address a looming deficit and declining enrollment. University of Akron President Matt Wilson outlined a two-year plan last week to shore up the school’s finances. The university hopes to finalize […]

Lawsuit: University of Dayton Covered Up Football Team Hazing Claims

by Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio — A new lawsuit claims the University of Dayton covered up allegations of hazing connected to the school’s football team by ensuring that a UD police investigation never reached local officials. Max Engelhart, a former UD student and offensive lineman, filed the lawsuit against the western Ohio school, its football coach and others […]

Saint Augustine’s University, Bennett College on Probation

by Reginald Stuart

Two of the nation’s oldest historically Black colleges were placed on probation Tuesday by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), signaling the two North Carolina institutions continue to battle financial challenges.

Protests Bring Out Angry Millennials in Chicago

Arkansas School of Law Dean Ever Mindful of Native American Heritage, Mentoring

by Christina Sturdivant

When Stacy Leeds accepted the position of dean at the University of Arkansas School of Law, she made history. Since 2011, she’s served as the only known Native American woman to lead a law school in the country.

Guiyou Huang Named LSU-Alexandria Chancellor

by Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana State University-Alexandria has a new chancellor. LSU President F. King Alexander announced in a news release Tuesday Guiyou Huang will take over the chancellor’s post on Jan. 1. Huang is currently the senior vice president for academic affairs, dean of the faculty and professor of English at Norwich University, in […]

Protests Bring Out Angry Millennials in Chicago

Virginia Tech President Wants to Double Minority Enrollments

by Associated Press

BLACKSBURG, Va. ― Virginia Tech President Timothy Sands is calling on the university to double its enrollment of underrepresented minority groups over the next six years. The Roanoke Times reports that currently, about 12 percent of Tech’s students are Black, Hispanic or of Pacific Islander descent. Sands said during a board of visitors meeting Monday […]

Oregonian Analysis: State College Enrollment Diversifies

by Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. — The number of Latino and multiracial students attending Oregon’s public universities has more than doubled in the past seven years, according to an analysis of enrollment records by a Portland newspaper. The state’s public universities collectively saw enrollment rise 5 percent from 2010 to 2016, largely because of an influx of minority […]

University of Illinois Strengthening Ties with Mexico

by Associated Press

URBANA, Ill. — The University of Illinois is strengthening its ties with Mexico through new academic and research partnerships. The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports university President Tim Killeen signed agreements during a trip to Mexico last week. He says they are part of the university’s efforts to diversify international student enrollment and increase its global impact. […]

Diverse Conversations: What Professor Esolen Gets Right About Diversity

by Matthew Lynch

History professor Anthony Esolen recently came under fire when he penned an article for Crisis magazine that questioned the push for diversity at his workplace: Catholic institution Providence College.

Texas Program ‘Guarantees’ Technical Jobs After Graduation

Regents Name Richard Myers New Kansas State President

by John Hanna, Associated Press

MANHATTAN, Kan. — The Kansas Board of Regents on Tuesday made Richard Myers, a retired four-star general and former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, president at Kansas State University, promoting him after he served as interim president since April. The regents voted unanimously to promote Myers to president of the land-grant university in Manhattan, which […]

A female professor who was passed over as chair of the School of Mass Communication can pursue a retaliation claim against North Carolina Central University but not claims for sex discrimination or a hostile work environment.

Schools Scrambling to Reinstate Students in Wake of PPL Reversal

The Department of Education’s decision this month to reverse its denial of loans to thousands of parents trying to help their children go to college clears the way for institutions to try to recover from what has been widely characterized as a fall enrollment disaster for many Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says the agency has reviewed complaints from a number of institutions and advocacy groups and has decided to use the “extenuating circumstances” provision of its Parent PLUS Loan program to reconsider the rejected loan applications.

The new, more forgiving conditions governing the review process suggest the agency will probably waive most of the tougher loan restrictions imposed this spring and summer.

For example, the agency will reconsider applicants who have received Parent PLUS Loans (PPLs) in the past two years and would have received one this year were it not for some debt collections or charge offs that are more than 90 days delinquent. The agency will also reconsider first-time applicants who were denied due to having some “small amount” of “delinquency” in their credit history, Duncan says.

Officials at several universities welcomed the policy decision and said they were already trying to contact students adversely affected this summer and fall by the PPL rejections in hopes of getting them back in school after the winter break.

At the same time, several said they now face the challenge of getting affected students to come back to school in the middle of an academic year, asserting some may opt to wait until next fall, switch to some other institutions or forgo college altogether.

Regardless, some fear what appears to be an unintended blip on the radar could have a more long-term negative effect than federal officials envisioned when they tightened the loan approval requirements.

“It’s a challenge for all HBCUs to get these kids back,” said a university official, echoing the sentiments of some colleagues. “Historically, HBCUs lose a lot of students in the second semester,” even without such last-minute developments as the new loan restrictions, the official noted.

From Howard University to Benedict College and all sizes of public and private institutions in between, university presidents, recruitment and enrollment officials reported earlier this fall losing hundreds of students and millions of dollars in anticipated income at the start of the fall 2012 school year as students learned upon reporting to school they could not be admitted since the loan applications submitted by their parents or guardians had been rejected by the PPL administrators.

The rejections were based on new PPL rules implemented since the fall of 2011 that the agency says puts its efforts more closely in line with lending industry standards. The new rules bar loans to most people with outstanding debts that had been “charged off” by creditors or are more than 90 days past due. Medical bills are included.

On the ground, at institutions across the country, the impact was real.

Clark Atlanta University, for example, exemplified the experience of many institutions. It reported losing 400 students this fall, largely due to the new PPL lending rules that resulted in its PPL loan denial rate rising to 65 percent this year from 25 percent for the fall of 2011. That denial of loans and loss of students was worth more than $6 million in revenue to Clark Atlanta alone, a university official said.

Hampton, Florida A&M and Howard universities reported significant student and anticipated income losses, as did a number of smaller institutions like Albany State University in Georgia and Benedict in South Carolina.

When the depth of the PPL situation became clearer as schools began to open this fall, several took actions on their own while joining the chorus appealing to Secretary Duncan. Benedict began tapping internal resources for funds to help some students. Delaware State University offered some affected students scholarship aid packages that were a combination of grants, scholarships and loans.

The policy shift is good news, said Arlene Cash, vice president for enrollment management at Atlanta’s Spelman College, the prestigious private women’s college.

She said some of the institution’s current students used their last dimes to stay in school this fall after losing their anticipated PPL loan support. Others, who dropped out for lack of needed funds, will see a way back in, she said.

“They’ve been calling,” said Cash. “They want to come back.”

Cash acknowledged it may be a “big deal” to some affected students that they may not graduate with their freshman class cohorts, as originally envisioned. That said, she hastened to add: “The idea of being able to come back to college is a big deal too.”

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